It sounded so promising – the setup from a humanist writer professing his boredom with the stagnancy of debate, a panel of distinguished thinkers charged with leading the way forward, and a full house of engaged attendees, palpably waiting for the emergence of a new agenda that could save us from more rounds of knockabout "is-there-or-isn't there" pantomime.

Among the sharp gainers, the Singapore dollar broke from its recent stagnancy to pop to a record against the U.S. currency, the Australian dollar again notched its highest level since being floated in 1983 and the South Korean won hit a two-and-a-half-year high.